What does a speech pathologist really do?
In conversations I’ve had over the years, I’ve gathered that the main portrayal of our profession involves a speech therapist, seated in front of a child, making various animated faces and speech sounds to “teach them to talk properly.”
While this image is grounded in some truth, there’s so much more to our role that shapes how we actually support individuals and their families within our communities.
Please consider the following:
We can work with both children and adults, though some clinicians choose to specialise in one or the other (depending on their skill areas).
The individuals who need our professional input come from many different walks of life and usually benefit from highly individualised support. Think of the following hypothetical individuals in our communities:
64-year-old John needed a speech pathologist to help him with his aphasia (a type of language disorder caused by a brain injury from a stroke). The stroke left him with a limited ability to put a cohesive sentence together, making it challenging for others (including loved ones) to understand him.
3-year-old Abby and her caregivers worked with a speech pathologist to support her in developing early feeding skills after being tube-fed since birth. Abby had never experienced having food in all its various flavours, textures, and temperatures in her mouth, and she hadn’t had the opportunity to develop her jaw and tongue function to chew food (something that many of us take for granted every day).
38-year-old Melanie, who has a diagnosis of Huntington’s disease, required adaptive equipment to support her dysphagia (which impacts an individual’s swallow safety and function). Melanie and her family also required speech pathology support to facilitate a meaningful conversation around Advance Care Planning (ACP). This discussion empowered Melanie to control the decisions around her medical treatments and care, for when she was no longer able to make those decisions (as Huntington’s reduces life expectancy).
Just these few examples show that our work extends far beyond teaching people how to speak. We are professionally trained and equipped to help the individuals and families we work with navigate a range of barriers and challenges related to their communication and swallowing. We support them with evidence-based strategies and solutions to facilitate positive outcomes.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲?
By gaining a deeper understanding of our role, I’m hopeful that our communities will be better equipped to advocate for individuals who need us “speechies” the most. By propagating the stereotype that we are 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙘𝙝, we are limiting the narrative about what we can do for those who need “something different” or “something more” from us (leaving some individuals and families more isolated than ever).
If you’re unsure about the type of support you or a loved one may need, please don't hesitate to contact our friendly and approachable team to learn more.
Thank you,
Gemma Naude (Certified Practising Speech Pathologist)
